You're Okay
by EyeLoveIhDeeNuh
Summary: After weeks of Maureen's begging, Joanne gives into taking in a foster child. What they thought would just be a few months of taking care of a troubled kid, turns into something much more than that.
1. Chapter One

**A/N**:Hi guys! This is my first RENT fic I've actually posted, so be nice. (: This chapter is a little short but they'll get longer, I pinky promise. It's rated 'T' because there's a lot of heavy subject matter in later chapters. And it all takes place around three months after RENT.

**Disclaimer**: Sadly, I own no part of RENT. That honor lies in the hands of the late genius, Mr. Jonathon Larson. ...Thank you.

* * *

"Please, please, please, please, please, Pookie? Please!" Maureen pouted, hovering over the stove with a metal spatula in her hand.

Joanne, who was making an attempt to work on some of her cases, was just hit with a bombshell. She ignored the pleading of her fiancée and continued shuffling through the papers of her briefcase. "Is something burning?" Her head perked up, resting her questioning dark eyes on Maureen.

A quiet, "Shit," surfaced from Maureen's mouth. The black grilled cheese burning in the pan in front of her would _not _help her case.

"Damn, Maureen!" She took action, nudging the diva, who didn't seem to be concerned at all, and grabbed the pan to dump the black charred square into the sink, extinguishing the small embers before they caught fire. "You can't make a grilled cheese and you expect me to say yes to having a baby?"

She grinned and fiercely nodded her head. "Why not? We can be good parents! I can be responsible!" Joanne snorted at the responsible comment. "I'm serious! How can I convince you?"

"No, Honeybear," she firmly stated, holding her index finger close to Maureen's face. As if she was disciplining a child. "No."

Maureen huffed and crossed her arms, plopping herself on the floor. She eyed Joanne through the dark curls that fell in front of her face. "What about foster care?" she chirped as she made the realization. "It's temporary!"

"I don't know." Joanne sighed heavily and leaned against the counter. "Foster kids have a lot of problems."

"Oh come on Pookie," she begged, pushing herself off of the floor and pressing her body into Joanne's. "How cute would it be to have mini Joanne's and Maureen's running around here? And they can grow up to be just like us!"

"God help the ones that take after you."

Maureen took a deep breath and filled her cheeks with air, raking her mind for a comeback. When she couldn't find one she quickly exhaled and gave Joanne a playful glare. "Fine, but don't come to me in two years when I'm old and fat and weigh two hundred pounds, complaining that we never had kids because you know what I'm going to say? I told you so!" she retorted.

"So you're planning on gaining eighty pounds in two years if I don't let you have children?"

"Eighty-five." Her glare turned a bit more sincere as she threw her hands in the air. "And no, but I will if I don't have little kids to run after when you're not home, leaving me here with myself!"

Joanne chuckled at her ridiculousness. "Listen, I'll schedule an orientation with the program. And if you still want to do it, we'll talk about it." she reasoned, but only to make Maureen happy.

It worked. Maureen squealed and jumped up and down. "Thank you Pookie!" She embraced her in a hug, rubbing Joanne's back. "So, wanna go into the bedroom and do it?"

* * *

**A/N**: So what did you think? I'd appreciate reviews and feedback. Whether they be nice or flames or suggestions even, I'll take 'em. ALSO, I'm looking for a beta, so if you're interested, you can PM me. 8D


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N**: So I made a promise that the next chapter would be longer. And I kept it! This chapter is pretty dialogue heavy though and it mainly focuses on their foster kid but I swear, in the next chapter I can assure some MoJo. And I forgot to mention, Angel is alive because I said so. In the movie/musical (whichever cast you prefer) she just had a brush with death. And I know that if you were getting a foster kid, they'd give you a file on them before hand. But for the sake of this fic, let's just say they don't. ...Enjoy!

* * *

It had been a month since Maureen convinced Joanne to take in a foster child and today was the day they were supposed to meet her. They had passed the written tests, the home inspection, background checks, and took a course on foster parenting. Joanne had made Maureen realize that they may have to come to terms with having a teenager instead of a child. Surprisingly Maureen was perfectly okay with that. Now all they had to do was wait for a kid to show up at their door.

So far they knew nothing. The agency had told them, "We can bring her by March 30th." By the 'she,' they assumed it was a girl. They weren't given an age or any background information about the child. And while it didn't faze Maureen, it gave Joanne even more reason to worry.

"What if she's a psychopath, and she tries to kill us in our sleep?" Joanne vented aloud while dusting the mahogany nightstand in the spare bedroom. She had been up for hours cleaning and now it was six in the evening. Maureen spent the day following Joanne as she moved from room to room feverishly dusting and vacuuming.

"We can assure a Lifetime movie out of it." Maureen grinned widely as she lay on the gold silk comforter that covered the bed, her upper body propped up by her elbows, her chin resting in both her hands. She examined Joanne scramble to clean the windows that didn't need to be touched.

"I'm serious, the agency is supposed to give us a file or something right? They can't just hand us a kid and expect us to deal with it." Joanne reasoned, bending over to pick up the dirty paper towel she dropped.

Maureen laughed quietly and reached out to grab her ass. She smiled, shifting herself so she was lying on her side with her head supported by her right hand. "That's _exactly_ what they expect us to do."

Joanne dropped her arms to her side and eyed Maureen. "You're usually the one to freak out. Why aren't you freaking out?" exclaimed Joanne, almost in a defensive tone.

"Because I can control myself."

Before the lawyer could come up with a clever reply there was a knock on the door. She could feel her heart slide into her stomach. She observed Maureen bounce off of the bed and tread to the door. Joanne followed suit, making a feeble attempt to mimic her enthusiasm.

"Hi!" Maureen greeted, swinging the door open with such enthusiasm she caused the two on the other side to take a step back.

There stood a woman in her forties. Her long strawberry blonde hair pulled into a tight bun. She was rigid, and the sage green suit with the bulky shoulder pads made her look even more uptight. "Hello." she replied sternly, giving the two an obvious look of disgust.

Maureen opened her mouth to say something about her attitude but Joanne prodded her away before she could do something stupid. She wanted to slap the woman just as much as Maureen. "Hi, I'm Joanne Jefferson. This is my fiancée Maureen Johnson."

Joanne held her hand out for the woman to shake but the woman purposely directed her attention to the girl standing behind her. "My name is Mrs. Landers. This is Nicole." Her voice lacked any emotion whatsoever and emphasized the title 'Mrs.' to assure the couple she wasn't looking for a casual conversation.

The girl who the woman gestured to was no taller than five feet. Her pale face was framed with golden brown curly locks that fell a few inches past her shoulders and side bangs that swept across her forehead. She had such dark chocolate eyes and long eyelashes, it was almost impossible to distinguish her iris from her pupil unless you really looked. She was biting on her plump rose colored lips so hard you could see them splitting. Her frame was small yet very developed. Her legs were clad in a dark wash pair of skinny jeans, and her torso sported a paisley patchwork tank top that fit tighter on her chest and draped more over her stomach. That was covered with brown zip-up hoodie, and her feet wore a pair of black Chuck Taylors. She forced a small fake smile towards the bohos, pushing her lips together and twitching the corners upward, and gave them a small wave before adjusting the bow on her dark grey metallic headband that lay on her head.

Joanne was relieved that there wasn't a rambunctious toddler standing outside of their apartment door. "Come in."

"I actually have to get going." the woman breathed as if to continue but quickly spun to Nicole, awkwardly patted her shoulder, and left.

"Your social worker's fucking bitch." Maureen said loud enough for the insufferable lady to hear, earning a shy laugh from the girl who still stood in front of her.

"Maureen." Joanne warned.

"She's not mine. My social worker is, 'tapping ass,' in Vegas." She stopped to use air quotes.

Maureen giggled, "See, I don't need to censor myself. What she said was sexual."

Joanne shook her head gesturing for the teenager to come in and took her bags. "This will be your room," she explained, leading the crowd into the spare bedroom. Nicole followed shyly behind, Maureen in the wake of her. "If you don't like it we can change it, paint the walls a dif-"

Nicole cut Joanne off, "No it's fine," She paused. "I like it." The walls, a deep burgundy color, contrasted the silken gold comforter and copper throw pillows that lay on top of the queen sized bed. On both sides of the bed stood to mahogany nightstands. Between the two windows that overlooked the city was a mahogany dresser. It looked more like a hotel room than a bedroom.

Joanne smiled, "Good."

* * *

Within a few hours Joanne had given the tour of the apartment and Maureen found her way to the couch. Nicole and Joanne stood in the kitchen around the island. "Are you hungry?"

"Starved!" Maureen shouted from the living room, bouncing off the couch and running towards the kitchen.

"Not you."

Maureen furrowed her eyebrows at the lawyer. "Pizza! Extra cheese!" she demanded.

Joanne rolled her eyes and sighed, a playful smile twitching at her lips. "Is that okay with you?"

The girl simply nodded.

"Do you talk?" Maureen asked teasingly.

"Yes." She nodded.

"I mean hold conversations."

"She was talking before, but you were busy watching TV." Joanne defended, nudging Nicole with her elbow. She turned on her heel, cordless phone in hand, to order the pizza.

Maureen stuck her tongue out at Joanne and sat herself on a barstool in front of the island. "So how old are you? Twelve?"

"SIXTEEN!" Joanne called from the other room.

The smile that yanked on Nicole's face told Maureen that Joanne was right. "Got a boyfriend?"

"NO!" She called again.

"Ahhh," Maureen raised her eyebrows. "I get it, I wouldn't tell Joanne either. She blows things out of proportion." The diva winked. "Me on the other hand, I'm the cool, down to earth one."

"I HEARD THAT!"

"GOOD!"

"I don't though." she said leaning against the island, another smile growing.

Maureen narrowed her eyes at the teenager. "I get it! Lesbian?"

"Completely and unquestionably straight." she shot back, a small friendly smirk on her face.

By the time the pizza arrived it was around eleven 'o' clock. "So how long have you been in foster care?" Joanne asked before taking a bite of her pizza.

Nicole, who had her pizza in her hand, eyed the woman and put it back down on her plate. "I don't know. Since I was three?"

Maureen looked up from her pizza that was half shoved in her mouth. "En woo were emeh huhohed?"

"And you were never adopted?" Joanne translated for Maureen. Joanne suddenly felt sorry for the girl sitting next to her. She watched the girl's gesture change, crossing her arms and placing them in her lap. Not in a defensive manor but more like a security blanket.

"Obviously not," she breathed, adding a light sarcastic tone so she didn't come off too rude. "Um, I'm a little tired. You don't mind if I go shower and go to sleep do you?"

"Sure, you don't have to ask." Joanne assured her.

"Thank you." She dropped down off of the barstool, anxious to get away from the repetitive questions she's answered so many times before.

She made her way to the spare bedroom; pulling a pair of short purple shorts, a pale yellow sweatshirt, a pair of socks and clean underwear from her suitcase. She closed the door and went into the bathroom that was conjoined to the room to take a shower.

When she was done she put on her pajamas and brushed out her wet curls and moved back into the bedroom. She unzipped her second suitcase, drawing a tie-dyed rainbow blanket, a small stuffed dog which was missing its nose, and a green nightlight out. With a sigh she plugged the nightlight into the wall by the door and climbed underneath the covers. She turned to face away from the door, clutching her stuffed animal and blanket near her chest, and tried her best to fall asleep.

* * *

**A/N**: To those of you who wanted a kid for Maureen and Joanne, no worries, there's one coming. (Or more? :O) Relax, I got you covered. Haha. Review and tell me what you think of Nicole so far! In two chapters or so I'm going to go somewhat in depth with her character so maybe if you don't like her now you'll like her then. So um, *points to review button* ...:D


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N**: Hi! New chapter. Thank you to those who reviewed (iknowaboutpopular and Phases of Obsession,) the last two chapters. And thank you to Phases of Obsession for helping me with my grammar! Sorry, this chapter isn't the best written but it gives a little bit of insight to Nicole. And the other OC's name is pronounced JOE-ELL. And I'm aware that a therapist would probably never call in parents/foster parents without the kid's permission. But hey, whatever. Anyway, enjoy this chapter. AND REVIEW!

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At eleven in the morning Joanne sat at the kitchen table sipping her coffee and reading the paper. She had taken off of work today to be there by the time Nicole got home from school. Maureen was still sleeping in the bedroom, giving Joanne time to work on some of her cases. However Joanne decided to take the time to relax from the past week she spent stressing about taking care of a foster kid.

"Morning Pookie," Maureen mumbled groggily, transpiring from the master bedroom. Her curls frizzy and knotted to the left side of her head. She lazily pushed Joanne's chair away from the table with her foot and straddled her hips, pulling the lawyer into a deep kiss.

After about thirty seconds of a passionate kiss Joanne pulled away for air. "Good morning to you too Honeybear."

Maureen nodded and looked around the kitchen after rubbing her eyes. "Where's Nicole?"

"School. That's where kids go to learn on weekdays from seven to two," Joanne joked, pulling Maureen in for another kiss.

"Oh yeah." Maureen wrapped her arms around Joanne's neck and pressed her forehead to hers. "Then why are you home?"

"I took the day off to be with you." Joanne draped her arms Maureen's waist, running her fingers up and down her back. "And to be here when she gets out of school."

"So we have over three hours to ourselves?" Maureen flashed a mischievous grin to Joanne and pulled her into another fervent kiss.

"Mhmm," Joanne mumbled into Maureen's mouth.

The phone rang in the middle of their make out session. "Machine…" Maureen muttered while taking a breath. Joanne nodded and continued roaming Maureen's body.

"_Hi Ms. Johnson and Ms. Jefferson, this is Linda Silverstone calling on behalf of Nicole's-" _Joanne stood up, still holding Maureen in her arms and reached for the phone while putting the diva on the counter in the process. _"…session scheduled tomorrow. You can call us back at 212-555-470-"_

"Hello?" Joanne panted into the phone while keeping her palm on Maureen's forehead to let her talk. "What's this regarding? Oh. Okay."

"Pookie," she huffed and pushed her arm away, lunging her mouth to Joanne's neck. Joanne gave up, lifting her chin to allow Maureen more room to roam.

"Yes, Thursday is fine." Joanne bit her lip to suppress a moan. "Mhm. Okay. Yeah. Sure," she mumbled, hanging up the phone as she ran her fingers through Maureen's hair. "You're not going to ask who that was?"

"Nope." Maureen continued, jumping off the counter to switch positions with Joanne, pressing her to the granite surface.

"Thursday at four, her therapist wants to meet with all of us," Joanne laughed and cupped Maureen's face in her hands to draw her into a kiss but Maureen abruptly pulled away.

"Wait, what?" Maureen asked confused and slightly agitated.

"Her therapist wants to see how we're getting along. I don't know." Joanne shrugged and leaned in for another kiss.

"Wait! I hate therapists," Maureen pouted and sat herself back on the counter. "I _don't_ wanna go!"

Joanne couldn't believe her fiancée. "Are you serious? Why not?" she questioned, a little laugh escaping her lips.

"I don't like _themmm_," she groaned, kicking her bare feet on the cabinets beneath her.

"Mo, how old are you?" Joanne replied, growing amused by her small tantrum. "Besides, you're not the one who's getting evaluated."

"I don't careee" she whimpered and rolled on her side.

"Maureen," Joanne scolded. Maureen sat back up and pouted. "You wanted to do this," she reminded her firmly.

"But I wanted a baby!" Mauree struck her foot against the cabinet for an unnecessary crash.

"Maureen," Joanne said through gritted teeth. "You agreed to taking care of a teenager, and _I _expect you to keep your word. That is _not _fair to her. She needs someone who will care for her and that means going to therapy with her if she _needs_ you." She stopped to take a breath and make sure Maureen was listening to her. "I know that she has been here less than a day, but this is what we signed up for. If you want to have a baby show me you can look out for a teenager first. You're being selfish. And I'm not saying become her mother, but you never know. She might grow on you. But you have to remember she is just a _child_. You are twenty eight and I sometimes I have trouble believing you're a day over the age of ten." Joanne stopped and took another breath, this time locking her brown eyes with Maureen's green ones. "Just show her you care."

And with that, Joanne left the room to let Maureen take in what she just asked of her. Maureen breathed a heavy sigh and slid off the counter, knowing Joanne was right. All she wanted was a baby without the consequences. Something she could play with when she had nothing to do and would take care of itself.

She felt slightly guilty for complaining, but she knew she wouldn't be able to sincerely "be there" for Nicole. But she would pretend for Joanne. _"Who knows, maybe I'll surprise myself," _she thought.

"Joanne," she wailed and shuffled her feet into the bedroom where Joanne lay on the bed. "You're right." She cocked her head to the side and took one of Joanne's hands in hers. "I'm sorry."

The lawyer looked up at her fiancée to see if her apology was genuine. "So you're going to try?"

"My best," Maureen assured and pounced on her.

Joanne chuckled and took Maureen into her arms kissing her forehead. "Now where did we leave off?"

"Right here," Maureen squealed pointing to the small hickey on Joanne's neck and again began sucking the same spot.

* * *

"You should get home," he managed to breathe between kisses.

Her small hands held his dark chocolate jaw as she pulled him into another deep kiss. "Nuh uh."

They stood in an alley a few buildings over from Joanne and Maureen's apartment. Her legs wrapped around his stomach with her back leaning against the brick wall. He drew away for a second time, pressing his forehead to hers, pinning her to the wall, "Come on, they're probably worried about you."

"I don't care," she spoke softly, this time tugging on his black t-shirt to bring him in for another kiss.

He complied and for a full minute the two continued as their tongues explored each other's mouth. "Okay, seriously. You're five hours late and I have to get back home to Ailah."

She stopped and groaned pulling her arms away so they dangled in the air below the rest of her body. The boy before her smiled as she crossed her arms across her chest waiting to be put down, and he carefully placed her on the ground.

"Not fair. You cheat on me, get a girl pregnant, and I have to suffer," she mumbled under her breath as she marched out of the alley and back onto the crowded sidewalk.

Annoyed he ran after her, gripping her upper arm so she couldn't get any further. His tall black, six foot four frame towered over her mere white, five foot one. "Listen-" he chastised, jerking her towards him so she would look at him. "Don't give me an attitude when I made one drunken mistake and as I recall, the _numerous_ times you cheated on me you knew _exactly_ what you were doing," he scolded through clenched teeth, unaware of how much pressure he was putting on her arm.

She looked away, at the various strangers who surrounded them who flashed concerned looks but didn't bother to do anything. "You're hurting me," she flatly and quietly stated through her own gritted teeth, now focusing her eyes on the sidewalk.

He unclenched his jaw and let go of her arm. "Sorry."

She only nodded, still keeping her eyes on the sidewalk, shambling her feet in front of her. "Take me back?"

"Yup." He pressed his lips together and grabbed her hand and began walking her to the apartment.

Within ten minutes they arrived outside of the building. "I'll go up by myself. I'm going to need to make an excuse and you won't help my case."

He complied, picking her up to give her a kiss and once more, cautiously putting her back down. "Night Nic."

"Night Joel."

She spun around and ran up the front stairs of the structure and through the lobby, opting to take the elevator. She slipped inside with a young couple and their three kids.

"Mama, he hit me," the little girl screeched, clutching onto the young woman's shirt.

The woman looked down at her daughter and two sons. "Jacob, don't hit your sister," she said sternly. "Where'd he hit you baby girl?" she cooed stroking her daughter's long blonde tresses.

Nicole turned her back towards the family, unshed tears welling up in her eyes. Suddenly walking forty eight flights of stairs didn't seem so horrible.

"On my arm," she cried.

"Oh let me give it kisses and make it feel much better," the mother exclaimed. Nicole could hear her making raspberries on the little girl's skin. "All better?"

"Much. I love you mama," the girl giggled.

"Love you too princess."

Nicole anxiously looked to the floor indicator while picking at her red nail polish. "Tenth? Are you fucking serious?" she cursed under her breath.

"Daddy, are you going to teach me how to ride a bike tomorrow?"

"Sure am Buddy! Are you gonna chicken out like you did today?"

"Are you gonna let me fall?" the little boy countered.

"Never. You can trust me."

She felt the welled up tears spill over. With the back of her hand she brushed them away, eyeing the number above the elevator. Eighteen.

The elevator door opened, another family swooning in. "Fuck this."

She ran out of the elevator, and ran to the stairwell, running up the twelve flights before she got to the twenty fourth floor.

* * *

Out of breath she wiped the remainder of the tears from her eyes. She waited until she composed herself and knocked on the apartment door.

"Where were you?" Joanne questioned with anger as the door flew open. "You're five and a half hours late, we were about to call the police."

"_She_ was! _Not_ me," Maureen corrected.

Nicole didn't know whether to be annoyed or happy that someone actually cared where she was. She chose to act as if she had no idea what Joanne was talking about. "I was at drama?" she replied and let herself inside.

"And you failed to mention that this morning?"

"See Pookie," Maureen chirped from the couch, shifting her attention back to the TV, "I told you she was fine!"

"It should have been in my file. Didn't you read it? I have drama every day after school until seven." Nicole acted as if she had done nothing wrong.

Joanne's tone softened when she spoke, "No, we never got a file."

"Oh," she spoke innocently and flashed Joanne a small fake apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I thought you already knew. I should have called."

"No, no. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled." Joanne immediately felt guilty. "Do you want dinner?"

"No, I ate at school," she lied. "I'm exhausted so I think I'm going to go to sleep early."

"Yeah okay. Goodnight sweetheart," Joanne fluttered.

Nicole pressed her lips together and pushed out another small smile. "Night."

"Oh, we have a meeting with your therapist Thursday at four by the way," Joanne informed her before she slid into her bedroom.

"Kay," Nicole replied and disappeared behind her bedroom door, letting her tears slip yet again.

* * *

**A/N**: I hope you didn't hate it too much. Haha. I'm off to right the next chapter. And for those who want more Maureen and Nicole, no fear. Next chapter. Reviews will motivate me. So please take three seconds just to tell me what you thought/think so far. You're all fast typers I'm sure. (:


	4. Chapter Four

**A/N**: Hey, sorry for the delay on this chapter. I got it done and then New York decides to get hit with a disgusting five day snowstorm, leaving me without power for three days. I don't care for this chapter much. It was hard to write and I don't like how I wrote it. It came out completely different than I expected it to. I had this nightmare a few days before I wrote this chapter and I had to put it in here. And I'm sorry that Maureen and Joanne seem slightly out of character. Gah, they'll be back next chapter. Anyway, reviews are nice. (: And thank you to **Phases Of Obsession** for being my grammar _savior_.

**Warning**: This chapter has some heavy subject matter. Although I didn't go into detail whatsoever, it touches issues of abuse. (Physical, emotional, sexual.) If it makes you comfortable please skip it. It's not my intention. I am passionately against it for myself and many people I am close to have been through something like it or similar. So, believe me when I say I understand if you'd rather not read it.

* * *

Nicole sat in the bumpy gray chair across from Maureen and Joanne. Her legs, clad in dark wash skinny jeans, were positioned like a pretzel in a feeble attempt to make herself comfortable. Nervously, she picked at the stray thread coming from her red ballet flats, then moved to playing with the pleats of her dandelion blouse, and then to the bronze stud on the thick auburn belt wrapped around her stomach. "Fuck my life," she grumbled only loud enough for her to hear.

She could feel her stomach doing flips in her abdomen. She hated therapy. She hated talking about her problems. She hated the feeling of someone analyzing every aspect of her life. And most of all she was dreading the fact that someone else was going to listen.

Maureen slouched in her chair, the top of her head resting on the back rest and her back resting on the seat. She wore red skin tight pants with a black tank top that read 'I'D DO ME' in red letters which covered just below her belly button, and on top of that a black faux fur lined leather jacket. "I hate therapists." Her face sported a permanent pout while she turned to Joanne. "Pookie, can we go home?" Maureen was bored.

"Yeah, can we leave?" Nicole peeped with hope evident in her voice.

"No!" Joanne disciplined and swatted Maureen on the shoulder with the back of her hand.

Both Maureen and Nicole let out a loud, exasperated groan.

"Maureen, couldn't you have worn something a little more appropriate?" Joanne pulled Maureen's jacket open to look at her shirt. "Really?"

"What would you expect me to wear?" Maureen paused between each syllable, drawing out her sentence to show her annoyance at the question.

"Maybe a less obscene shirt? Something nicer?" She motioned to her plain light blue dress shirt and black suspenders that held up her navy pants.

Maureen wrinkled her nose and made a face, sulking further into her chair. "Whatever."

Joanne was about to speak when the therapist's door opened. "Ms. Johnson and Ms. Jefferson?" the woman called looking into the waiting room, smiling when she laid eyes on the only three people left in the office, aside from the secretary. "Can I speak with you two for a minute?" she kindly asked, holding the door open for the couple to come in. Maureen huffed and slid out of her chair while Joanne promptly sat up and shook the woman's hand which the young girl quickly reciprocated.

"Hey girl, be with you in a minute!" The woman cheerily greeted Nicole and closed the door behind her.

Both Maureen and Joanne plopped themselves onto the right side of the couch, Joanne rested her right arm on the armrest. "So, Ms. Johnson and Ms. Jefferson, I called you in to-"

Maureen's head snapped up when she saw the attractive woman around their age sit in the desk in front of them. "You can call me Maureen!" she flirted and crossed one leg over the other, resting her elbow on her knee and then resting her chin on her hand.

Joanne watched Maureen and pushed her back onto the couch. "Joanne," she spoke, her gaze remaining on Maureen. She then cleared her throat and turned back to the therapist. "Excuse her."

The woman chuckled. "You can call me Laura. Anyway, as I was saying, I asked you hear to see Nicole's progress. I just want to see how much she's going to open up when she has someone who has a say in her life here," she explained. "Have there been any problems so far?"

Both Maureen and Joanne shared glances and shook their heads. "She's been fine. Very quiet," Joanne said.

"Really?" Laura asked surprised, and wrote something down on her notepad. "She's normally very outgoing. But then again she has only been living with you for, what, three days?"

"Mhmm," Joanne answered.

"Okay, I'm going to call her in. But don't be offended is she doesn't say much at all. That's the whole reason we're here," she declared and pressed a button on her desk, signaling for her secretary to let Nicole in.

The door opened and Nicole cautiously entered, closing the door behind her. She sat cross-legged on the couch next to Maureen. She sighed and leaned back, her eyes traveling to each face in the room.

"So what's been going on?" Laura asked while leaning in her chair, twirling a pen in her hand.

"Not much really."

"Oh yeah? That's it? I haven't seen you in two months! Drama club is getting in the way of our relationship girl!"

Nicole only lightly laughed.

"How is drama?"

Nicole quickly made up an answer that would go along with the excuse she had been giving both Joanne and Maureen. "It's good. We just finished the show, now we're just getting ready for the next one." She smiled to herself. It was partially true. Her school _had_ just finished "Pippin" and she played Catherine. But that was three weeks ago, and they had nothing to get ready for.

"Very cool. Are you still keeping your New Year's Resolution?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed excitedly, a genuine grin creeping on her lips. "No drugs slash alcohol of any kind," she proudly stated. She stopped and realized what she had just admitted to her foster parents. Her grin quickly fled as she looked at Joanne and Maureen to see their reaction, and slowly she let out a content sigh when she received an encouraging smile from Joanne and a smirk from Maureen.

"Awesome! I'm so proud of you!" Laura positively cooed in an excited tone, as if Nicole was a small child who just brought home a good report card. She made eye contact with both Maureen and Joanne to let them know that what Nicole just confessed was in fact a good thing. "What about boys? How's that been going?" Laura tried, being careful not to mention her boyfriend in case she didn't want to share it.

"Too busy."

She knew to leave that issue there and tried something else. Laura knew about Nicole's boyfriend and every other aspect of that relationship but she knew it was a signal to keep her mouth shut. "Well that's good; you're too young for boys."

Laura continued asking Nicole simple questions. Mainly about school, grades, friends, and such. "How've you been sleeping?"

Nicole shrugged and stared down into her lap. "Alright."

"Alright?" Laura asked concerned. "When was the last time you got a full night's sleep?"

Nicole hesitated, searching her brain for the answer but failed to find it. "I can't remember," she spoke softly, still staring in her lap.

Laura noticed her answer. Although it would normally raise concern for the therapist if the two were alone, but the fact she responded with something Laura could continue on illustrated huge improvement. When Laura was sure Nicole's focus was still in her lap, she nodded to Maureen and Joanne, making sure they were paying attention. "What's the matter sweetie? Are you waking up, can't get to sleep at all-"

Nicole looked at Maureen, who for the first time seemed to truly be listening to her. She took a heavy breath before saying, "My nightmares are getting really bad."

Laura pursed her lips, noting on her notepad Nicole's answer. "What kind of nightmares? Realistic ones or ones where you're getting chased by the tree wizards?" she joked.

While Joanne and Maureen sat somewhat confused, Nicole let out a small laugh. "Hey," she dragged out. "Those are serious." She hesitated before speaking again, "Realistic ones."

"What was the last one about?"

Nicole took another long breath, taking extra time to exhale as she looked up at her foster parents again. Both of them were giving her reassuring smiles, so she continued.

"Last night I had one, that I got a phone call, from the police… They said he got out of jail somehow, and to make sure I wasn't home alone, and to make sure that everything was locked." She looked up at both Maureen and Joanne, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. "You guys weren't there. And I tried calling you, but I was too shaky and kept skipping numbers. So I tried to call 911, but I couldn't either. And then I went to lock the door and-" Nicole felt her tears begin to leak so she looked back down, concentrating on the floor. "...it slammed open, and he had a knife. And he told me that he was going to kill me." Nicole stopped to choke back the sobs that were sitting in her throat and to wipe the tears from her face with the sleeves of her black fitted blazer. "He kept calling me a s- sl- slut. And telling me I'm worthless. And said that I was only good for one thing. And that no one would ever love me. And that no one cared what he did to me, and they're not going to care when I- I- I'm dead. And he hit me, and kicked me, and he ra- ra- ra- raped m- m- m- me." By this time she was weeping uncontrollably to the point where you could just barely make out the words she was saying.

Instinctively, Maureen pulled Nicole to her chest, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "It's okay. You're okay," Maureen whispered into her ear.

Joanne's eyes were overflowing with unshed tears. Something told her it was more than just a nightmare. But she observed Maureen with Nicole. The way Nicole was now pulled into Maureen's lap while Maureen settled her right arm across Nicole's stomach and used her left hand to hold Nicole's head to her own while rocking her back and forth. "You're okay." The sight brought a tiny smirk to her face.

"Joanne, can I speak to you outside?" Laura requested.

Joanne turned her attention away from Nicole and Maureen and nodded to the therapist. "I'll be right back."

Laura spoke as she closed the door behind her, "I know it may not seem like it to you, but she has just displayed more improvement than in the entire time I have been seeing her."

"What- what did all that mean? The nightmare she had," Joanne fumbled.

Laura pursed her lips before answering. "A few years back, she was in a very abusive foster home for a little over a year. One night her foster father lost it and killed his wife. Nicole saw the whole thing, tried calling 911 but he caught her. She was in a coma for two weeks after that and has been having nightmares of him getting out of jail and trying to kill her ever since."

Joanne's face froze. After a long silence she spoke, "Is she going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine." Laura gave Joanne a reassuring smile and laid a hand on her shoulder. "She's tough."

"What about the drugs, alcohol? What kind of dru-" Joanne was cut off by Laura's chuckle.

"Don't worry; nothing too horrible. Normal teenager stuff."

After a few minutes of Laura explaining details to Joanne on ways to help Nicole through transitioning into a new home, dealing with her problems, etc; both turned and once again entered the small office.

On the couch Maureen still held Nicole in her arms. She had stopped crying and stared at the floor in front of her. Her breathing calmed down to the occasional sniffle but her face, covered by the curls Maureen comfortingly ran her hand through, was still red and tear stained.

When she heard the door open Nicole quickly sat up straight and wiped her face with the back of her hand, but not before giving Maureen an appreciative smile.

"Are you alright?" Joanne sat down on the couch next to Nicole and tucked a piece of hair behind the girl's hair.

She felt safe between the two women sitting on either side of her. She felt, for the first time, that someone actually cared what happened to her. With a nod accompanied by an authentic beam she said, "I'm fine."

"Good. Ready to go?" Joanne asked and sat up, holding out her hand to help Nicole up.

"Ready." Nicole grabbed Joanne's hand and stood up, Maureen followed suit and laid a hand on her shoulder.

* * *

A several hours later, after the three went out for pizza and ice cream and then a movie, they returned home. Nicole was in the shower getting ready for bed while Joanne and Maureen were both changing.

"You know, her nightmare was about her foster father?"

Maureen heavily sighed as she slipped out of her clothes and put on an oversized red tee shirt and a pair of blue plaid pants. "Yeah, I figured."

Joanne climbed out of her own clothing, putting on a green tank top and black sweatpants. "I feel horrible," Joanne spoke and crawled under the covers of their bed. It had been a long day, and both of them were worn out. "I'm just going to go to sleep. Goodnight Honeybear."

"Me too." Maureen scuttled under the blankets next to Joanne and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Love you Joanne."

"I love you too Mo." Joanne gave Maureen a kiss and quickly fell asleep.

At midnight Maureen still laid awake from Joanne's light snoring. With an annoyed groan Maureen pulled herself out of bed and decided to get something to eat.

When she passed Nicole's room she noticed the door was open; the green glow of her nightlight lighting up the hallway. "You awake?"

Nicole turned on her side to face Maureen who leaned on the door frame. "Nope."

Maureen smirked. "Can I come in?"

"Are you and Joanne fighting?" Nicole yawned, wrapping her arms around her pillow.

"Joanne snores," Maureen laughed.

Nicole smiled and waved Maureen in; moving over so Maureen could sit in the bed.

"Why are you still up?" Maureen asked as she sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard.

"I can't sleep." Her eyes felt heavy and every few seconds they would slip close, only to open another few seconds later.

Maureen pressed her lips tightly together in thought while running her fingers through her own hair. "Why not?"

Nicole shrugged and buried her face in the pillow.

"Are you afraid you're going to have another nightmare?"

"Yeah," she admitted and sat herself up in bed so she too was leaning against the headboard.

Maureen wrapped her arm around Nicole's shoulder. "What if I stay in here with you? Then if you have a nightmare I can wake you up."

"Okay." Maureen pulled the blankets over her shoulders and held them up for Nicole to lie back down next to her.

Subconsciously Nicole curled up against Maureen, resting her head on her shoulder and letting her eyes fall shut.

Maureen snaked her arm underneath Nicole's neck and draped her other arm across her back, laying her chin on the top of her head. As much as she'd like to deny it, Joanne was right. Nicole was in fact growing on her. Soon Maureen nodded off too. 


End file.
